Garhwali language is a Central Pahari language belonging to the Northern Zone of Indo-Aryan languages. It is primarily spoken by the Garhwali people who are from the north-western Garhwal Division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the IndianHimalayas.
The Central Pahari languages include Garhwali and Kumauni (spoken in the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand). Garhwali, like Kumauni, has many regional dialects spoken in different places in Uttarakhand. The script used for Garhwali is Devanagari.[4]
Garhwali is one of the 325 recognised languages of India[5] spoken by over 2,267,314[6] people in Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Dehradun districts of Garhwal division in the state Uttarakhand.[7] Garhwali is also spoken by Garhwali migrants to other parts of India including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. According to various estimates, there are at least 2.5 million Garhwali migrants living in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
However, due to a number of reasons, Garhwali is one of the languages which is shrinking very rapidly. UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger designates Garhwali as a language which is in the unsafe category and requires consistent conservation efforts.[8]
Almost all people who can speak and understand Garhwali can also speak and understand Hindi, one of the most commonly spoken languages of India.
Development of Garhwali
In the middle period of the course of development of Indo-Aryan languages, there were many prakrit. Of these, the "Khas Prakrit" is believed to be the source of Garhwali[9][10] [6]. The early form of Garhwali can be traced to the 10th century which is found in numismatics, royal seals, inscriptional writings on copper plates and temple stones containing royal orders and grants. One such early example is the temple grant inscription of King Jagatpal at Dev Prayag (1335 AD). Most of the Garhwali literature is preserved in folk form, handed down verbally from generation to generation but since the 18th century, literary traditions are flourishing.[11] Till the 17th century, Garhwal was always a sovereign nation under the Garhwali Kings.[12] Naturally, Garhwali was the official language of the Garhwal Kingdom[12] for hundreds of years under the Panwar (Shah) Kings and even before them, until the Gurkhas captured Garhwal and subsequently the British occupied half of Garhwal, later called British Garhwal which was included under the United Province. Garhwal Kingdom acceded to the Union of India as a part of Uttar Pradesh in 1949.
garhwali Dialects
- Srinagariya (सिरिनगरिया) – classical Garhwali spoken in erstwhile royal capital, Srinagar, accepted as Standard Garhwali by most scholars.[13]
- Tihriyali (टीरियाळि)/Gangapariya (गंगपरिया) – spoken in Tehri Garhwal.
- Badhani (बधाणी)- spoken in Chamoli Garhwal.
- Dessaulya(दसौल्या)
- Lohabbya (लोहब्या)
- Majh-Kumaiya (मांझ-कुमैया)- spoken at the border of Garhwal and Kumaon.
- Nagpuriya (नागपुर्या)- spoken in Rudraprayag district.
- Rathi (राठी)- spoken in Rath area of Pauri Garhwal.
- Salani (सलाणी)- spoken in Talla Salan, Malla Salan and Ganga Salan parganas of Pauri.
- Ranwalti (रंवाल्टी)- spoken in Ranwain (रंवाँई), the Yamuna valley of Uttarkashi.
- Bangani (बंगाणी)- spoken in Bangaan (बंगाण) area of Uttarkashi.
- Parvati – reportedly not mutually intelligible with other dialects.
- Jaunpuri (जौनपुरी)- spoken in Uttarkashi and Tehri districts.
- Gangadi (गंगाड़ी) (spoken in Uttarkashi)
- Chaundkoti चौंदकोटी- spoken in Pauri.
(Linguistically unrelated but geographically neighbouring languages include: the Tibeto-Burman language Marchi/Bhotia – spoken by Marchas, neighbouring Tibet.)
Dialects & Standard Garhwali[edit]
- Standard Garhwalis & more of its dialects have an accusative case सणि (/səɳi/) while South Garhwalis dialects have different word ते (/te/) for accusative case ( Maybe borrowed from Awadhi or Braj). But in Standard Garhwali or High Garhwali ते is used as oblique case.
Sources of vocabulary[edit]
The basic vocabulary and language of primitive Garhwali is said to have been developed on the language used by the inhabitants of the pre-historic age belonging to Negrito Australoid, Dravidian and Mongoloid ethnic groups.[14] These are primarily the Munda, Bhil, Naag, Yaksha, etc. The other non-Aryan tribes from the Northwest, such as Kunind, Kirat, Shak, Hun, Gurjar, Pisach, Darad also contributed to its vocabulary and influenced the language. The languages of the powerful Khasas, who still form a majority in Garhwal, is believed to be the source of Garhwali language.[12] The later Aryans with their Vedic Sanskrit and Prakrit languages helped in adding to the vocabulary. Subsequently, Saurseni and Rajasthani Apbhransha had considerable influence in shaping the Garhwali Language. During the Medieval period, due to increasing interaction with outside regions, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali words also crept into the repertoire of spoken Garhwali. Contact with the Delhi rulers resulted in intrusion of Persian, Arabic, Turkish and English words. From the 18th century, however, Hindi started exerting the maximum impact, not only on enriching the vocabulary, but also on the grammatical formation and syntax of the Garhwali language. Nevertheless, more than one third of the vocabulary remained of native base and indigenous structure
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